First Times
by twilightstargazer
Summary: A series of drabbles between James and Lily. From first year to seventh year.
1. Seeing

_**Disclaimer: I don't own HP**_

**First Times  
~~~***~~~**

**Chapter 1- Seeing**

The first time James saw Lily Evans was when they were both eleven years old and she was telling her parents goodbye on Platform 9 and 3/4

He could vaguely recall what she was wearing, some sort of blue dress and white flats with her long red hair braided back into two pony tails on either side of her head.

At that time, he was just another eleven year old boy. He wasn't popular as yet, he wasn't sorted as yet and he certainly wasn't obsessed with a one Lily Evans as yet. Back then at eleven, boys did not understand a thing about the opposite sex, nor did they ever want to. To them girls were completely different in every way, shape and form. They had progressed further than the cooties part, but they still hadn't reached the part where the hormones kicked in and they wouldn't be able to focus on anything except for the members of the female sex.

But moving away from semantics, that was the first time he saw Lily Evans. He just brushed her off as another random face.

But, the first time James Potter actually _saw_ Lily Evans was not until the beginning of third year.

It would happen after their summer break and everyone was back on the platform chatting happily with friends as they boarded the train.

James and the rest of the Marauders were in their usual compartment. Remus was reading, Sirius and Peter were playing Snap and James was staring out their window, lost in his own world. The four boys had gone through growth spurts during the summer so now James looked lankier than ever.

Suddenly, their compartment door sprung open and, out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red. Lily Evans.

James and Lily had never really talked in their past two years unless it was about Lily reprimanding James for doing something to Snivellus, so James could not say that they knew each other well save for the fact that she was very quick and witty.

So when James saw that one flash of red, he turned around, sharp retort on the tip of his tongue, only to be frozen in shock.

It seems that not only the Marauders had grown during the past summer.

Lily was dressed in a simple pair of muggle jeans and a light yellow shirt. James could see that she had also gone through a growth spurt and seemed to be at least four inches taller than the last time he saw her. In fact, she was probably very close to being the same height as him with only a few inches difference. But that wasn't the thing that stopped James in his tracks and made his mouth go dry. No, it was her still developing figure. She was always a bit thin, having next to no curves at all, but now… now James was raking his eyes over her form. She had a small but define pinch at her waist, before it opened back out in to her hips. The was also a noticeable bulge at her chest, and his eyes may have lingered they a tad bit longer than necessary, but the poor bloke was in shock.

It was only after Lily Evans cleared her throat softly did his eyes finally snap back to hers. He vaguely wondered in the back of his mind if Lily Evans had emeralds for eyes, but then quickly dismissed the thought as he was beginning to sound like a right ponce.

"I'm sorry, I thought this compartment was empty," she muttered blushing. Her cheeks looked like little roses when she did that…

James shook his head to rid himself of all the girl like thoughts. He was a man for Merlin's sake, granted he was only thirteen, but still! Not to mention he was a Marauder. He shouldn't be thinking like that in the first place. Especially about Lily Evans. Boys like him weren't even supposed to go in detail about her eyes or how her hair was fiery red, but a few strands glinted gold in the sunlight- Gah! He needs to stop sounding like a bloody poet. The only adjectives he should be using to describe a girl were fit, hot and good looking.

"You could stay here if you want to," he blurted out. He mentally cursed himself. What in the name of Merlin's wand was he thinking inviting Lily Evans, the same Lily Evans that tattled on him who knew how many times, to spend and eight hour train ride with him and his friends?

Apparently, the other Marauders thought the same thing. Remus's mouth hung open in shock, Peter nearly fell off his seat and Sirius shot him a look that clearly stated that something was wrong with his best mates sanity and he best ship him off to St. Mungo's immediately. Even Lily bloody Evans stared at him in shock before shaking her head and politely replying, "I- I'm sorry. I can't. I'll just go find one of my friends or something."

As she made to shut the door, James yelled, "Hey Evans!"

She whipped around, red hair flying like the tail of a comet.

Dammit! He was doing it again! Remember James, you are a boy. You don't use similes and metaphors to describe a girl's sodding hair! You just say her hair flew around her. How bloody hard is it to say that?

"Yes?" she asked sceptically, looking at James as though he was about to pie her in the face. Which, given his previous reputation, it was entirely probable.

"Relax Evans; I'm not going to hurt you," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Then what did you want?"

"To tell you that you look good Evans," he said, running a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his.

To say that she looked shocked would be an understatement.

She was positively gobsmacked.

She didn't notice Remus's book falling to the ground with a clatter, or Peter actually sliding off his chair this time around nor even when Sirius threw a wad at paper at his best friend's head and started mumbling about Polyjuice potion and St. Mungo's.

After recovering from her initial shock, Lily Evans blushed the brightest shade of red James Potter has ever seen.

"Oh… I- um- t- thank you… I guess," she stuttered. She left the compartment, banging her hand on the door before closing it.

After she left, Sirius jumped on his best mate.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" he asked.

"Nothing," James said, blushing slightly from all their stares.

"That wasn't 'nothing' James," Remus said, picking back up his book. "You flat out stared at the girl for nearly five minutes!"

"I did not," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Pete, back me up here. Tell them that I did not stare at Evans for five minutes."

"Er…" Peter scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Remus and Sirius actually have a point mate. You did kind of check her out."

"See!" Sirius said triumphantly, wagging a finger. "Three against one! You can't deny it any more, Jamie boy!"

"Don't call me Jamie boy!" James protested, sounding sulky. "And fine; if you want to know what's the big deal, it's just that she looks different."

Sirius snorted. "Well yeah. You expected her to stay as the annoying little pipsqueak for all her life?"

Well yeah, sort of.

James never took into consideration that his rival might eventually grow up and look… well, fit.

James remembered mumbling something or the other to the boys, which pacified them for the time being. Remus went back to his book, Sirius and Peter went back to playing Snap and James went back to staring out the window, except this time a little red head with green eyes kept running through his mind for the entire train ride.

_**Hello lovelies! This is going to be a multi chapter fic. It's not in chronological order, because sometimes I may forget something that was supposed to be before and add it in after. Each chapter is an entirely different story by itself, all pertaining to Lily and James, from James's POV. It is going to be shorter than I'm accustomed writing, but these are drabbles.**_

_**Hope you liked it. Review please, even if it's just to criticize me. At least then I'll know what to work on.**_

_**~twilightstargazer  
**_


	2. Pranking

**Chapter 2- Pranking**

The Marauders were infamous for pulling the most pranks that Hogwarts has ever seen. But how did they come to gain this reputation? It all started while they were first years who were in their first week of school. It was before the Marauders were formed. It was before Remus and Peter took up arms with James and Sirius. It was before they gained that infamous reputation. That one, seemingly harmless prank is what had set the ball rolling for the formation of the most notorious gang in the history of Hogwarts.

It all started when James and Sirius were lying about in the common room, having already finished their homework and was bored stiff. James was looking at the newest broom model that came out and Sirius, forever a case of restless energy, was just staring in to the common room and fidgeting every few seconds.

"James," Sirius whined for the umpteenth time that day, "Let's do something."

James put down his quidditch magazine and looked at Sirius. "Well what do you want to do?"

The other boy shrugged. "I don't know. We could explore the castle or something. Who knows, we might find old Snivelly; I've found a new spell that I've been dying to use."

"You mean prank him?" James asked, his brow crinkling in confusion.

Sirius nodded excitingly. "Yes! We could go and prank Snivellus! That's brilliant mate!"

James shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't know mate… we can get in to some serious trouble."

"Well what other kind of trouble can we get into? James trouble?" Sirius asked, smirking.

James groaned. "Mate that joke got old the first five minutes I met you. Lay of the serious/ Sirius puns."

"Nah, they're funny. You just don't appreciate my humour and stellar wit."

"Of course Sirius," James said rolling his eyes. "Of course."

The next ten minutes, the boys were down at the lake under the invisibility cloak following Snape and Lily. James drew his wand.

"This is going to be so good," Sirius said with a huge grin across his face. "I can't wait to see Snivellus's new look."

James waved his wand and muttered the incantation under his breath.

However, at that moment several things happened. Lily tripped over a rock and Snape bent to help her. The golden jet of light from James's wand that was about to hit Snape's back ended up hitting Lily's instead. A tiny blotch of red appeared and it slowly began getting bigger and bigger. Soon, Lily's once black robes were now entirely red with gold on the neckline and sleeves. She screamed.

James heard Sirius mumble a curse under his breath.

"Now do you believe that we're going to get in to serious trouble?" James asked, sounding fearful.

"It's not Sirius trouble anymore mate," he whispered, "It's James trouble now. You're the one who cast the spell."

"Yes but you're the one who found the spell and wanted to do this in the first place!"

The boys continued bickering back and forth, ignoring the fact that they were under an invisibility cloak and that they may not be seen, but they would be heard.

"What the- Who's talking?" Snape asked as he tried to distract Lily from the mess that was now her robes.

"I don't know Sev, I think it's coming from behind that tree," Lily said, trying to use her very limited knowledge on magic to charm her robes back to normal.

"It sounded like that Potter boy and his friend, Black," Snape spat.

"Well right now I don't care about that Potter boy and Black. Help me get my robes back to normal before I get in trouble," Lily hissed.

But Snape didn't listen to her. He went over to the Oak tree and started looking around. Sirius noticed and elbowed James in the ribs, pausing their bickering. He quickly pulled the cloak off of them and pushed it in his pocket, out of sight, right before Snape came to that side.

"You two," he sneered.

"Hello Snivellus," Sirius said calmly, "Fancy seeing you here."

"I know it was you two that charmed Lily's robes red," he spat.

"'Course we didn't; Evans just probably felt like displaying some school spirit, that's all," Sirius said jovially.

At that point, Lily came over to the three boys. Potter and Black were trying to stifle their laughter while Severus was glaring at them.

James finally noticed Lily and he had to admit that it was a very… blinding sight. Her robes and her hair clashed horribly together. They were nearly the same colour, so you could not tell where her hair stopped and her robes began. It gave her the appearance that she was completely covered in red hair. Her cheeks were also red, whether from anger, embarrassment or a mixture of both, James could not tell. The only contrasting feature was her bottle green eyes that seemed to be glaring at him and Sirius. He was vaguely reminded of Christmas with all the red and green going on.

"Potter," she said dangerously.

"Yes Evans?" he asked, trying to smirk at her as he slowly stepped backward. He only knew her for a short space of time, but he knew well enough that she had the infamous volatile red head temper.

"Did you do this?"

He glanced at Sirius and gulped slightly. You could practically see the steam coming out from her ears.

"No…"

"Don't lie to me!" she cried out harshly. "It was you and Black. You're the only two people here besides me and Severus!"

James took another step back.

"I don't know Evans, it could have been Snivelly," he said.

Lily glared daggers at him.

"Fix. It. Now," she snarled, red sparks coming out from the end of her wand.

James fumbled with his wand for a minute and muttered the spell again. However, instead of the robes turning back into its customary black, they turned… pink.

Lily shrieked again. "Potter! This is not funny! I'm a _redhead_! Redheads can't wear _pink_!"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident! I swear!" James said.

He flicked his wand again. The robes turned blue.

"POTTER!"

"I'm trying!"

He continued flicking his wand and her robes continued changing in to every colour under the sun except for the one colour that they wanted. It changed from blue to green, then from green to orange, orange to yellow, yellow to white and white to a dark, dark purple.

"I want my robes black now or so help me…" she muttered angrily under her breath.

Sirius looked at all of them before flicking his wand lazily and saying, "Finite Incantatem."

Lily's purple robes slowly darkened themselves back in to its original dark inky black.

Three shocked faces met Sirius's gaze.

"I'm not just a pretty face you know," he said smugly.

"Where'd you learnt that from?" James asked in awe, ignoring Snape's snort of amusement.

"I'm from the most ancient and noble house of Black," he spat. "It's practically a crime not to know how to do basic spells by the time you're seven."

"You mean you knew the spell all the time?" Lily said, seething.

Sirius nodded, flashing her, his biggest, brightest smile.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" she yelled. "You- I- Gah! Come one Sev. We're leaving."

After shooting them a glare of extreme loathing, she stalked away with Severus at her heels.

Sirius turned to James and smiled. "We just pulled our first prank ever! And on Lily Evans no less!"

"Yeah… but she was ready to hex me in to oblivion! Did you see her face?" James said, slightly put out that his best mate kept the spell from him.

"Yes, and it was bloody hilarious mind you."

"Sirius, how about we agree on this. No more pranks on Lily Evans," James said seriously.

"Aww… but why not," he pouted.

"Because she wanted to kill us!"

"So? What's a life without a little bit of danger?"

"One where I'll live to see twentieth birthday?"

"Tomato, _tomato_," Sirius shrugged. "You have to admit that it was funny."

"Well…" James said, thinking about the conversation that just took place. "In retrospect it kind of was."

Both boys chuckled as they thought about Lily's furious expression.

"See? Now we could continue pranking Lily Evans."

"Sure, but next time let's come up with a plan first. And give her some time to cool off," James added on. "I don't about you, but when that girl is angry she scares the hell out of me."

"She's not scary. She's more like a… a pipsqueak with attitude," Sirius said, laughing.

Both boys laughed some more before making their way back to the castle. That was just the first prank of many, many, more to come.

_**So what do you guys think of it so far? Is it good? Is it bad? Do you want kill your computer because of its atrociousness? I know that the chapter are a bit short, but don't forget that it is a drabble and drabbles aren't all that long.**_

_**I have something to ask you though. People have favourited and alerted this story, but I have yet to receive one review. Any writer would tell you that they always have a big sappy smile on their face whenever they get a review. It motivates them to write even more. So can you all please just say something in the review box? It's not that hard guys.**_

_**~twilightstargazer  
**_


	3. Scoring

_**First up, I want to thank my 3 reviewers from the last chapter. This is for you guys. **_

**Chapter 3- Scoring**

James Potter was a quidditch extraordinaire. He had been playing since he was three and managed to secure a spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team when he was just in his second year. He usually played the as one of the chasers, but he could also handle seeker. People usually said that he was born on a broomstick with a quaffle in hand. He was that good. But how did he get this reputation? From being the youngest on the team in his second year he went to being considered the greatest chaser in all of Hogwarts in his seventh. Well, it all started with one little goal…

_22__nd__ October, 1972_

James Potter was nervous.

Not that he would ever admit to that of course. He tried to keep his charming smile on his face and act as though everything was perfectly fine on the outside when on the inside he was a jumble of nerves.

It was his first Quidditch match ever at Hogwarts.

He played Quidditch at home with his father, and sometimes his cousins, but those were family games and they were never really brutal. In fact, the worse injury someone ever suffered was a sprained wrist. But this was Hogwarts. During a Hogwarts Quidditch match someone always got hurt.

Especially if it Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

Like it is today.

He and his friends were sitting at Gryffindor table, all of them eating breakfast and laughing like every other morning. The only difference between this one and the next was that James wasn't quite as animate, though no would be able to tell unless they looked really, really closely.

He was pushing his unfinished eggs around his plate, unable to take another bite when Andrew Spinnet, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team stood up and announced that all players were to report to the changing rooms now. James choked down the last bit of his pumpkin juice before getting shakily to his feet and following the other six scarlet and gold clad students out of the Great Hall. Through the sound of his blood rushing in his ear, he could vaguely make out the cheers and catcalls from that came from the surrounding tables. He was the last one out, but before he could make it past the entrance hall he heard someone yelling his name.

"Potter! Hey, POTTER!"

He whipped around and saw Lily Evans coming down the steps that led to the entrance hall. She was wearing a scarlet and gold jumper which clashed with her fiery red hair that she had left open.

"Yeah?" he asked, feeling as though his tongue was made out of cotton wool.

"Er, I just wanted to wish you good luck," she said, blushing slightly.

Trying to regain his former James Potter confidence (which had deserted him since last night and left butterflies in its place) he smirked at her and said, "Why didn't you just cheer in the Hall with everyone else Evans?"

"Because I wasn't in the Hall. My rubbish mates didn't wake me up this morning." And with that, she turned on her heel and marched straight in to the Great Hall.

Smiling slightly to himself, James shook his head and made his way to the dressing rooms where the rest of the team was gathered.

"And that's another goal for Slytherin! Game's at thirty- seventy now folks, in favour of Slytherin," announcer Flavius Bishop said, much to the delight of the Slytherins.

James gritted his teeth. He had yet to score and if Gryffindor kept up like this, they were sure to suffer an embarrassing loss. The small burst of confidence he had had earlier while talking to Evans had left as soon as he stepped on to the field. He was sure that the butterflies had now taken up permanent residence in his stomach and were having a jumping party or something.

He dodged another bludger and caught the quaffle by his fingertips. He sped down the pitch intent on scoring his first goal when the other bludger whammed into his left side. He felt all the air being pushed out of his lungs as he automatically gasped. The quaffle dropped from his hands and into the waiting hands of a Slytherin chaser. He heard a whistle being blown as Spinnet called for a timeout to check on his wounded player.

They all flew to the ground, James stumbling a bit as he kept his hand on his side.

"You okay?" Spinnet asked, taking his wand out and probing him in his side. James stifled another gasp and winced.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Let's get back out there; they're pummelling us."

"Tell me about it," Anthony Kiely, one of the beaters, said. "This isn't quidditch; it's more like which team could hit the most bludgers at the opposing team's players."

Spinnet nodded and said, "We need to come up with a different plan. Kiely and Wilson need to start returning those bludgers twice as hard. Jones, work on finding that snitch. You three," he gestured to the three chasers, "We need more points on the board. I know that every time you get close to the goal hoops you have to avoid getting battered with bludgers, but at least try."

The team nodded in assent.

"Oh and Jones?" he said, "Perform that little pain relieving spell of yours on Potter. Bloke looks like he's going to collapse from the pain soon."

Jones nodded and pointed her wand at James's ribcage. She muttered a string of words under her breath, almost like a song, and he gradually felt the pain easing up. He scanned the stands for his friends and saw them waving at him. He shot them back a smile and continued scanning the stands when a flash of fiery red amongst the gold and scarlet caught his eye. He saw Lily Evans talking animatedly with Mary Macdonald, a pretty brunette from their year. Almost as though she realised that he was staring, she turned to the pitch and saw him. She shot him a small smile before resuming her conversation with the girl.

_I just wanted to wish you good luck._

It rang clear in his mind.

Once Jones was finished healing him, they all grabbed on to their broomsticks and kicked off. The crowd cheered loudly as play resumed once more.

The chasers moved seamlessly, passing the quaffle back and forth between themselves, never giving the Slytherins a chance to steal from them. The score rose from thirty- seventy to fifty seventy, the other two chasers scoring a goal apiece.

Right now, the quaffle was in James's hands and the path to the Slytherin Keeper was completely player and bludger free. He sped down with the quaffle tucked securely under his arm. He couldn't hear a thing except for his frantic heartbeat in his ears. The goal hoops were close now. Thirty feet… twenty feet… almost there… ten feet… He raised his right arm back and tossed the quaffle towards the middle goal hoop.

Everything was in slow motion for James now. He could see the arc of the quaffle in front him, out of the corner of his eye he could see the two seeker racing for the snitch, hands extended, he could see the Slytherin Keeper stretching to grab it, the tips of his fingers just barely brushing it as it soared pass him and in to the goal hoop to score.

The crowd went wild. James saw that not only did he finally score a goal, but that Brenda Jones, Gryffindor seeker, had the golden snitch tightly clasped in her hand. He joined the rest of the team flying forward to congratulate her. They all group hugged in the sky, slowly drifting downwards until they landed with a 'thud' on the ground. The final score was two hundred and ten points to seventy. He felt himself being lifted up on someone's shoulders as they carried him along with the rest of the team back to Gryffindor tower to celebrate. Through the throngs of people who were cheering and generally happy that Gryffindor had won, James could make out a mass of ginger curls clapping and cheering along with them. James shot her a smile and a wink before turning back to his friends who were standing there next to guy he was perched on. James could have sworn that she blushed, but when he glimpsed back again, she was perfectly blush free and tittering away with Macdonald and Alice Prewett.

James shook his head again, and let himself be taken up with the feeling of winning his first ever quidditch match at Hogwarts.

_**Hey there peoples. Sorry about the lack of L/ J action here. I sort of wanted to focus on the quidditch aspect of it. But there were some parts with her. This is before James realizes that he likes her and starts asking her our during every waking moment, so they're sort of… civil with each other (on occasions anyway)**_

_**Also, if you all have any ideas that could be used for this, you can always PM me leave it in a review. I'm always open for suggestions. The story is probably going to be around 11- 12 chapters long. **_

_**Review please!**_

_**~twilightsatrgazer**_


	4. Fighting

_**I'm so sorry for the delay in this chapter. The past week has been a whirlwind of computer problems, family visits and impromptu hospital visits. But, to make up for it, I promise that the next chapter I post will have a lot of L/ J action.**_

_**Also, to everyone who reviewed the last chapter I want to give each and everyone of you a big hug. This chapter is dedicated to my lovely guest reviewer who goes by the name of Lotta. I'm pretty sure some of the doctors in the waiting room wanted to give me a mental examination after I read it. I was smiling like a loon.**_

**Chapter 4- Fighting**

We all know that James and Lily created some of the worst (or the best) fights that Hogwarts had ever seen. It all started in their third year, which was when their little debates evolved into screaming matches that often got them in detention. Most students would look forward to the daily row between the two, using it as a chance to bet on the outcomes, such as who would initiate the fight, whether Lily would slap James, or if the would get detention for starting a duel. Sometimes it was James who started the fight, usually by making some sort of cocky remark, or Lily would start it when she took one of James's snide comments to heart and resulted with her volatile temper getting the better of her. Most of the time it was Lily who transitioned it from a small debate (or playful banter as seen from James) to a flat out fight. It didn't help that James's mouth didn't seem to censor what came out of it and Lily had fiery temper. It was usually one of his small flippant comments that ignited the infamous rage that was associated with being a redhead and it was his same mouth that made the argument escalate when he was trying to subdue it. Any person who went to school with them knew that you had to witness at least one of the notorious Potter/ Evans brawl. It was basically a part of life.

James was having a bad day.

He got back his charms essay with a bunch of red scribbles all over it and a dreadful mark. Then, during Herbology, the Fanged Geranium thought it would be fun to use his hand as a chew toy, resulting in him getting a nasty cut on said appendage. That ended him up in to the hospital wing where the young nurse, Madam Pomfrey, chided him for being so careless while she bandaged his hand, making him late for DADA. And, as a result, their new Defence teacher had deducted points from him and when he tried to explain that it wasn't his fault but that bloody plant from the greenhouse, he wound up with detention. He didn't think that the day could get any worse. The only little bright spot in this storm cloud was that Snivellus's potion exploded covering him head to toe and resulting with him receiving boils all over his body. Granted that it only exploded because of James's dungbomb, but that wasn't his fault. Hands slip sometimes. Even if said hands slip in to a cauldron that's three desks over, but that's neither here nor there.

But still, James Potter was having a rotten day.

After potions was finished, he and the rest of the Marauders made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Everyone was happily talking and eating, but for some reason, their laughter was making James feel more annoyed. Just as he was about to sit at the Gryffindor table, the doors to the Great Hall were flung open with a vengeance. The chatter immediately died down as everyone turned to the back of the hall. Standing there, wand drawn and an expression that scare the bravest of men was Lily Evans in all of her 5' 3" glory.

"POTTER!" she yelled, stalking up to him.

James closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of nose. He really didn't want to put up with her telling him off right now. His hand was throbbing and there was a dull pounding behind his eyes.

Sighing wearily, he decided that it would be better if he just faced her and watch her rant until kingdom come.

"Can I help you, Evans?" he asked resignedly, eyes still closed.

"Open your eyes and look at me, you twat."

And so he did, only to be greeted by the sight of a very angry Lily Evans who happened to have her wand placed right at his jugular. He tried not to panic.

"Evans-"

"It was all your fault!" she yelled, completely disregarding him. "You made Sev's cauldron explode!"

He kept his face impassive as she went on and on, not really listening to a word that she was saying. Instead, he just stared at her, taking in how the sunlight made her hair give off a slightly golden aura. He green eyes flashed and James vaguely realised that they were probably the nicest shade of-

Stop. Stop right there.

He shook his head, as if that would help clear his mind. He needed to stop thinking of Evans like that. It couldn't be healthy.

"Potter!" she yelled, jerking him out of his reverie.

"Huh? What?"

"You didn't listen to one damn word I was saying did you?"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking slightly abashed.

Lily made a sound in between a groan and something being strangled.

"Stop picking on Sev," she ordered, punctuating every word by jabbing him in the chest with her wand. She must have been very angry, either at him for blowing up Snape's cauldron or at him for not listening, because red sparks flew out from the tip of her wand.

"Listen, Evans, we just wanted a laugh-"

"Well then go look at yourself in the mirror," she snapped

"- I didn't mean for him to get covered in boils. I thought all that grease on the slimy git would protect him."

Laughter rang out through the Great Hall. Lily turned an interesting shade of red.

"That is not funny!" she hissed. "Because of you and your childish immaturity, Severus has to spend the rest of the day in the Hospital Wing!"

"Good. No one would have to see the greasy git for the rest of the day."

"Ugh!" she groaned. "You are an insufferable toerag!"

"Toerag?" James asked, the end of his mouth quirking upward along with an eyebrow against his will.

"Yes! Toerag! You want another word? Jerk! Prat! Idiot! Arrogant Self centred git!"

"Come off it Evans; I'm not arrogant."

"Uh, yes; you are."

"I'm not arrogant! I'm simply proud of my abilities!"

"There's a difference?" she asked, laughing without humour.

"Yes! Arrogant is showing off! I don't show off. I simply let people know about everything I can do."

"There are so many things wrong with that sentence Potter. Face it; you're arrogant," Lily said flatly.

"Well at least I'm not a prude," he countered, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm not a prude! Just because I don't throw myself at every male available doesn't mean that I'm a prude!" Lily yelled, blushing.

"Jeez Evans; take it down an octave." He was pretty sure that his headache was getting worse.

"You, James Potter, are an insufferable arse. I can't believe you're not taking this seriously!"

"Why would I?" he shrugged. "It's just Snivellus."

Lily's eye's narrowed. "Seriously? '_It's just Snivellus'_? Merlin Potter! I knew you looked down on people but I would never expect you to say something like that," she spat, her fingers clenching around her wand tightly. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"He's Snivellus," he said calmly, as if that itself was a good enough explanation.

"Try again," Lily said. James was sure that her wand was going to break if she kept on tightening her grip around it.

"Fine; he's annoying. He's a Slytherin. He's in to the Dark Arts. Everyone in his house hates muggleborns, muggles and pretty much everyone besides purebloods. He's evil. He-" There were a few more things that nearly slipped out of his mouth, but he clamped it shut just in time. James wasn't even ready to admit to _himself_ that those things were real, much less to Lily Evans and the entire Hogwarts population.

"Is that all?" she asked dryly, crossing her arms whilst cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, no. Not at all. There's a few more," he joked.

Lily didn't find it funny.

"Oh come on Evans! Lighten up!" James groaned, nudging her in the side, trying to get her to crack a smile. She didn't. In fact, it seemed as though her frown deepened.

"That's not funny Potter. He's a human being too. He's my best friend,"

"I don't see why you hang out him," he unthinkingly muttered, as he frowned. "Is it because of pity?"

"That is none of your business."

"Come one Evans, tell me. Put me out of my misery."

Lily ignored him.

"Oh, I see. Is it because no one would be friends with you? Because I've seen Snivellus with other people but I've never seen you what anyone else. It's the other way around, isn't it? Snape befriends _you_ out of pity," he sneered at her. Lily looked as though someone slapped her in the face. But he didn't care. He was having a rotten day and he needed an outlet. Lily just happened to be there for him to take his anger out on.

"You-"

"Who knows; maybe there's something going on there? You and Snivellus could very well be together. Though why he would want to be with someone like you is beyond me. But then again, it all could just be out of p-"

_Smack!_

All the chatter in the Great Hall came to a screeching halt. Sure, Lily and James had a row just about everyday, but it was usually Lily telling him off for something that he did and James making a snarky comeback or two. They never went as far as to slapping each other.

James was stunned. Evans never slapped him. His rational side said that he supposed he had sort of asked for it when he started saying that she had no real friends and Snape hanged out with her because of pity. But, he was James Potter. He may have a rational side, but it was incredibly minuscule and could hardly be heard over his irrational and rebellious side. So of course instead of backing down, his own temper flared to life and before he knew it, he had is wand in his hand and had sent a hex towards Evans.

She blocked it easily, but not without an indignant, 'Hey!' She sent back a stinging hex towards him.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

Students started cheering them on as they fired hexes and jinxes to each other. Lily was probably a bit more on the offensive side whilst James on the defence. People began taking bets such as who would get hit first and whether or not their friends would join in. Some of the girls who had liked James almost hexed Lily themselves for trying to hurt their beloved idol, while some of the boys catcalled at her stating, very eloquently, that she was going to kick Potter's arse.

However, before the fight could escalate even more, the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open yet again, though this time by a very, _very_ angry Minerva McGonagall.

"What is the meaning of all this?" she yelled. "Potter! Evans!"

"It was her fault, Professor!" James yelped immediately. "She provoked me!"

"_Me?_ You started it!"

"Enough!" said McGonagall. "I am disappointed in you both. Especially you, Ms. Evans; I expect this kind of thing from Potter and Black-"

"Hey!" James said indignantly.

"- not you. Detention. Both of you on Saturday."

"But Professor! I have Quidditch practice on Saturday!"

"Well," McGonagall said, peering at him through the top of her glasses. "I suppose you'll have to explain to Spinnet as to why you can't make it. That will teach you not to duel in the Great Hall. Or anywhere else as a matter of fact."

And with that, McGonagall stalked out of the room

Remember when he said that this day couldn't get any worse? Well life apparently takes that as a personal challenge.

_**I'm sorry if this chapter was crap. My best friend is in the hospital so I've sort of been on edge lately and haven't had any inspiration go write. **_

_**READ PLEASE: Before you all go and say that James and Lily fought all of the time, starting from first year, I want you to take this note in to consideration. In this story they usually ARGUED in their first and second years. They never moved on to insulting each other, hexing each other (unless for a prank) or using any form of physical violence. I'm sorry if I confused any of you.**_

_**Hope you all review!**_

_**~twilightstargazer**_


	5. Fancying

**_Sorry if it's not up to par. I'm sick so it's sort of difficult to write anything properly._**

**Chapter 4- Fancying**

James Potter and Lily Evans animosity for each other had no boundaries. She screamed and yelled at him till kingdom come yet he was unaffected. But then, at the beginning of fourth year James began to notice that yes, in fact Lily Evans was a girl. And a very fit girl too. He began notice little things about her, like how she threw her head back when she laughed or how she always smells nice and fruity. He got obsessed with her, to the point where it drove him mad. He couldn't get the little redhead out of his head. He was confused as to why she was always running around his mind. But one day in fourth year, he got his answer. James Potter, troublemaker and Marauder, fancied Lily Evans, good girl for life. And it scared the hell out of him.

* * *

James was in the boys' dormitories, trying to write out his transfiguration essay, but it was proving to be a difficult feat. It wasn't that the subject itself was complicated, no; James was a natural when it came to that. No, the problem was that his mind was far, far away from transfiguration and all transfiguration related topics.

His mind was on a little ginger haired witch who happened to be in the same house as him.

Groaning, James wearily passed a hand across his face and turned to his transfiguration textbook to look up the theory of turning water to wine. He already mastered this spell, but with his inability to concentrate, he had to resort to the textbook. Sighing, he started writing.

_…the easiest wine to transfigure water into would be white wine as they are similar in colour. With enough practice, the spell caster may be able to produce red wine. Red. Lily's hair is that colour. It's really pretty. And it smells like apples. Apples are yummy. I wonder if Lily likes apples. I could ask her next time I see her…_

James jumped to his feet, cursing as he looked over his ruined essay.

Lily Evans is very, very bad his mental health.

Binning the essay, James took out another sheet of parchment, but instead of writing, he simply stared at it wondering about the redhead.

* * *

For the past couple of weeks Lily Evans was always on his mind. He didn't know why, and it was downright infuriating. Everything he did or saw seemed to have some connection to the ginger witch. If he saw someone wearing just the slightest hint of red or green, he would remember her hair or her eyes. If he was playing Quidditch, he would remember his first game and how she came to wish him luck. Hell, he could be brushing his teeth and still find a way to relate to Lily Evans.

That couldn't be good. At all. Especially for a fourteen year old boy.

He didn't tell anyone of his unwarranted obsession. Peter would be no help, Remus would just give him that small mysterious smile of his and Sirius would probably cart him off to Saint Mungo's. And even _then_ he would still be thinking about her.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, James set back to work on his essay, trying to keep all thoughts away from the cheeky witch.

* * *

For the next week, James kept up with his newfound obsession with Lily Evans. Every time she laughed or smiled at something that he did, he felt a jolt in his stomach. If she accidently brushed past him in the corridor the place where their skin connected would burn him and tingle for the next hour or so. He had taken to the habit of staring at her in class and doodling her name unknowingly on spare pieces of parchment. Of course when he realised this he would promptly vanish the paper. His friends were already suspicious as to why he was acting so differently, and it would be rather telling if they saw a bunch of 'L+J's on various sheets of parchment.

He still didn't know why he was fixated with her. Just thinking about it out had James's head hurting. They were on completely different ends of the spectrum. He was a trouble maker while she spent her time doing work, tutoring or reading. He skived off of classes and homework while she never did that. He was athletic and couldn't stay still for a second while she was perfectly content with a book curled up on the couch. See? Totally and completely different.

James sighed again. If he was going to figure out this mystery he needed to get help.

* * *

"What's up mate?" Sirius Black asked as he sauntered in to the fourth year boys' dorms that afternoon.

James mumbled something unintelligent in to his pillow, causing Sirius to laugh.

"I don't speak pillow. Get up you big lump and tell me what's wrong."

Rolling over so he was lying on his back, James glanced at Sirius and then recounted the whole story of his unnatural obsession with the little redheaded witch. When he was done, Sirius's jaw was hanging to the ground.

"You- You fancy her?!" Sirius choked out.

James sat up immediately. "What! No I don't! She's _Evans_, Sirius."

"Yeah, but judging by what you just told me, you like Miss Evans."

James blinked, completely stunned. He fancied Lily Evans.

"I can't blame you though," Sirius continued. "Summer has been quite kind to her."

James cracked a small grin as he remembered how he openly gaped at her when she walked on to the platform the first day. "Yeah, she's gotten quite fit."

"I wonder if it's a muggleborns thing," Sirius mused. "She and Macdonald looked way better than the other girls. Although none of them have anything on Vance. Have you seen her?" He let out a low whistle.

James laughed. "Yeah, but I still think Evans looks fitter."

Sirius gave him a look. "Yep; you definitely fancy her. Are you going to ask her out for Hogsmeade?"

James laughed bitterly. "Please. It's _Evans_. She'll probably be cooped up with Snivelly for the whole damn trip."

"That doesn't mean you can't ask her."

"Sirius, I've just accepted the fact that I fancy a girl who probably wants to hex me at every chance she gets. I'm not about to go skipping off and say, 'Hey Evans, I just realised that I fancy the pants off you and that you've gotten quite fit over the summer. Want to ditch Snivellus and come to Hogsmeade with me?'" James snorted. "Yeah, that conversation will go good."

"Don't go skipping off. Other than that I don't see anything wrong with that."

James glared at him. "You're absolutely no help, you prat."

"Fine, you want real advice? Don't ask her like that. It makes you seem… well mad really. Although you fancy Evans so I suppose you are mad." Sirius ignored James when he gave him the finger. "Just tell her that you want to go to Hogsmeade with her."

"Not right now, Sirius. Maybe closer to Hogsmeade weekend."

"Well you better hurry. I heard Bertram Aubrey say something about asking her as well. And then there's Davies, Cresswell and Gudgeon. It seems that you're not the only one who's taken a liking to Red," Sirius laughed.

"Bloody hell," James groaned as her flopped back down on the bed. Sirius clapped his shoulder.

"Sorry mate," he shrugged unsympathetically, "The moment Evans got fit, every male in her general vicinity is practically salivating, trying to get her to go out with them. Hell, I would probably be one of them if it wasn't for the fact that she's a bit of a prude."

"Lily Evans is going to be the death of me," James moaned as he covered his face with a pillow.

"I don't think suffocating yourself is a good idea. Ask Evans out first and when she denies you then you can commit suicide by pillow."

He threw the aforementioned pillow at him. "Shut up Sirius."

"Just trying to be helpful."

"Get out of here you git. Leave me to contemplate my suicide in piece."

Sirius barked a laugh but left him anyway.

* * *

**_Wow. God this was horrible. I re wrote this like four or five times before I got fed up with it. It was hell to try and make it sound good (even though it doesn't). Eventually I just gave up on it and decided to post it even though I wasn't happy with it. I would have probably deleted it if I didn't post it._**

**_Oh well. Review please! Even if it's to tell me how this was utter crap._**

**_~twilightstargazer_**


	6. Asking

**_Big thanks to my lovely reviewers from the last chapter. This was actually the first thing that I wrote for the series of drabbles. Hope you like it._**

* * *

**Chapter 6- Asking**

James Potter annoyed Lily Evans to no end with his various requests for her to go out with him. He's been asking her since the beginning of fourth year. We all know that his declarations of love to her were always big, bold and public, but sometimes (like once in a blue moon) they were quiet and sincere where he would do something like conjure a rose out of thin air and softly say 'Go out with me Evans," while giving her an undecipherable look. During those times Lily didn't know how to turn him down because it was so heartfelt and he looked so goddamn sweet. Sometimes, Lily was even tempted to say yes but then she caught a hold of her bearings and would gently whisper, "No, I'm sorry," before walking out. But all of his endeavours to win her heart have to out somewhere right?

* * *

Today he was going to do it.

Today James Potter was going to ask Lily Evans out on a date.

James was up since six this morning trying to make himself look decent. He cast every single ironing charm he knew on his pants and shirt. He polished his shoes until he could see his reflection in them and made sure that his shirt was tucked in and his tie was fixed properly against his collar. The only problem he had was his hair. He had accepted long ago that his jet black locks were never going to be smooth and tamed like Sirius's, but in spite of that, he still tried to make it lie flat. Eventually, he just gave up and ruffled it again.

When the other members of the dorm got up, James was already dressed and waiting. Sirius took one look at him and burst out laughing, causing his best mate to frown.

"What?" James said defensively.

"You look like Bertram Aubrey," Sirius said in between laughs. "All neat and tidy."

"So? Maybe I wanted to be neat and tidy," he said as he crossed his arms but then he remembered that he wanted his shirt wrinkle free, so he dropped them again. This brought on a new wave of laughter from Sirius.

"So I'm guessing that someone is going to ask a little redheaded pipsqueak out on a date," Sirius said, smirking.

"So what if I am?"

"She's not your biggest fan James," Peter said timidly, as he got out his school uniform.

"Gee, thanks Pete. Way to make a guy feel confident," James said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

"It's true you know," Remus put in. "Lily doesn't like you. And as far as I knew, you didn't like her either. What brought on this change of heart?"

"She's fit," he shrugged.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Fit enough to get you to wear an immaculate uniform?"

"We've been over this," James grumbled, "I just felt like being neat and tidy today. It has nothing to do with Evans."

Remus gave him a knowing smile. "Of course it doesn't James. And it wouldn't be neat and tidy for long."

"Why do you say that?"

"Have you taken a look outside?" Remus asked, nodding at the window. "It's going to pour soon and we have Herbology first."

James groaned. "Brilliant. Bloody brilliant."

* * *

The four of them went down to the Great Hall ten minutes later for breakfast. Automatically, James scanned Gryffindor table for the little redhead. He quickly found her, sitting next to Mary Macdonald and Marlene McKinnon. James made his way over to where she was sitting, much to the amusement of Sirius and Remus. He sat down on the bench opposite her, with Sirius on one side and Remus and Peter on the other.

"Morning ladies," he said.

"Hi James," Marlene and Mary said. Lily just nodded in his direction and continued eating her eggs.

They all ate, making conversation about trivial things such as homework, school and sometimes Quidditch. After a while, James cleared his throat and flashed Lily a winning smile.

"So Evans," he began slowly, resisting the urge to swipe his hand through his hair.

"Yes Potter?" She didn't even look up from her plate. James felt his confidence dwindle a bit.

"I was wondering if you would… uh…"

"Spit it out Potter. I don't have all day."

"Pass the pumpkin juice!" he blurted out. Six pairs of eyes snapped towards him and he could feel his cheeks heating. Evans regarded him warily, and Sirius was having a hard time keeping his laughter in. James kicked him in his shin and sent a filthy look his way, to which Sirius replied to with a rather rude hand gesture.

"All right…" Evans said as she slowly gave him the jug. James wished that a hole would open up and swallow him. Pass the pumpkin juice. Could he get anymore stupid? His glass wasn't even empty!

Slowly, the conversation picked back up and Sirius continued sending smug looks his way. When they had five minutes until the start of Herbology, all seven fourth years walked began walking down to the greenhouses. James sighed agitatedly as his freshly polished shoes slowly got covered in mud.

Once they entered the designated greenhouse, James made sure to slip into the seat next to Lily, much to her annoyance.

"Hey Evans," James said, turning in his seat to face her, "I was thinking-"

"You were thinking Potter? Never thought I'd live to see the day," a voice sneered from behind him. James closed his eyes and turned to greet the visitor.

"What do you want Snape?" he snapped.

"You're in my seat."

"I don't see your name on it Snivellus," James said.

"I don't feel the need to deface school property like you and Black. That's my seat. I always sit next to Lily," Snape said coldly, glaring at James.

"Sev-" Lily began before she was interrupted by the teacher.

"Good Morning students," Professor Beery said jovially. "If you don't mind taking your seat, Mr Snape."

With one last glare at James, Snape swept away to the other side of the classroom where Avery and Mulciber were sitting.

After that, Professor Beery began his lesson, lecturing them on the similarities and differences between Devil's Snare and Flitterbooms. James glanced at Lily, only to find her scribbling down notes on to her parchment. Her sheet was already full, where as James had only written a meagre four lines.

Some fifteen minutes in to their lecture, James turned to Lily and whispered, "Hey Evans!"

"What?" she snapped, giving him a quick glare before going back to writing her notes. "We're in the middle of class!"

"I was just wondering if you were planning on g-"

"Mr Potter," Professor Beery called from the front of class. "Is there something that you'll like to share with us?"

"No sir," James said diligently. Beery gave him a stern look before going back to his board. James scrawled something down next to his notes, to make it seem as though he was actually paying attention. Just then a piece of parchment landed on the desk, right in front of him. James grabbed it and opened it under the desk.

**That's three times you've attempted mate. And it's three times that it was botched up. Face it; you and Evans are not meant to be. –SB**

Snatching his quill, he quickly wrote out a reply.

**Bugger off Sirius. And what's with this 'not meant to be' business? You sound like a twelve year old girl. -JP**

He threw the parchment back at Sirius, quickly rearranging his face in to an innocent expression when Beery turned around to say something to the class. When he went back to the blackboard, Sirius threw another note at James.

**You're not denying it. Maybe you should quit while you're ahead.**

**I'm not going to quit. I'm going to ask her out if it's the last thing I do.**

**It probably will be. She might hex you in to a pile of mush before she says no.**

**Shut up Sirius.**

Unfortunately, just as James threw his last note Beery turned around.

"Mr Potter! This is the second time I'm warning you! Stop disrupting my class!"

"Sorry Professor!"

* * *

James didn't get a chance to ask out Lily for the rest of the day. After Herbology, they had double Potions, but James wasn't even going to try and sit next to Lily for this one, because Slughorn wanted his two most brilliant potion makers at the front of his class. During lunch, there was an impromptu Quidditch team meeting, so by the time he actually reached at the Great Hall Lily was long gone. And after lunch James had Arithmancy while Lily had Ancient Runes. And finally, the class that they had for the day was Transfiguration, where McGonagall had implemented a very strict seating plan which had him sitting in the front of the class, three rows away from Lily Evans.

When classes were finished for that day, James had Quidditch practice, which ran well in to the evening and dinner. So when James entered the Common room at nearly seven, he wasn't exactly the happiest. He was wearing his Quidditch practice gear which consisted of worn boots, track pants and Gryffindor House t shirt, none of which could even begin to compare to his neat and tidy uniform from this morning. His hair was at its messiest due to a combination of flying and passing his hands through it all day. He wasn't pleased at all.

So when James entered the Common room, all sweaty and messy with his nimbus clutched in his hand, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw none other than Lily Evans doing her homework in front of the fire. The Common room was relatively empty, save for a few fifth year students who were studying and two second years playing chess. Steeling his nerves, James decided that it was either now or never, and walked over to where Lily was sitting.

He sat down on the armchair next to hers.

"Hullo Evans."

"Potter."

"What are you doing?"

"Ancient runes," she responded as she wrote down a series of symbols that James had no clue as to what they meant on her parchment.

"Ah," he said. "Sounds…rune-y."

"What do you want Potter?" she asked, setting down her quill.

"Er- not much. Just making small talk I guess," he said as he passed his hand through his hair.

"Well go make small talk with someone else; I'm busy."

"Right," he said as she went back to work. He didn't move from his seat. Instead he sat there and watched as she wrote out her Runes homework.

"Evans," he began after some time, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Are you- are you doing anything on the seventeenth?"

"Well it's Hogsmeade weekend, isn't it? I suppose I'll be in the village," she said, not once looking up.

"Right," James said, mentally cursing himself. He was so stupid for asking that. He wanted to kick himself.

"Why do you ask?"

"Er- what?" he said, his voice rising in pitch a bit. Those three words had him brain dead. _'You're acting like a pre-pubescent girl who has her first crush, you pansy,'_ he thought angrily to himself.

"Why are you asking if I'm doing anything?" she repeated.

"Oh! Well I- um, what I'm trying to say is…" he mumbled. Merlin help him. He can't even construct a sentence properly. Taking a deep breath, James looked at her and said rather quickly, "If you weren't busy or had any plans set in stone or anything, then you could go with me. Probably just grab a few Butterbeers or something."

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_. James wanted to find the nearest heavy object and beat himself with it.

"I- you- _what_?" Lily stammered as her quill dropped to the floor. "Are- are you asking me out Potter?"

"No! Yes… maybe? You know, depending on your answer."

"Why the hell are you asking me to Hogsmeade with you? You hate me!"

"I never said that!" James said defensively.

"Oh please." Lily rolled her eyes. "We fight like there's no tomorrow, you pick on my friends, you pick on _me_, you insult me, you-"

"Jeez, okay, _I get it_. I'm a bad person. Spare me the long list."

Giving him a slightly sympathetic look, Lily said, "I'm sorry Potter, I can't go with you."

James just stared at her for a minute or so before shaking his head and standing up. "Er- alright then, I guess I'll just see you later or something," he muttered uncomfortably, "Have fun with Snape."

"What makes you think I'm going with Snape?" Lily asked, her eyes narrowed in to slits.

"Well… I just assumed that since you said no that you were… that you had prior commitments with Snape."

"What? Do you think I don't have a date?" she said angrily.

"No! I-"

"Is that why you asked me out? Because you thought that no one else would? That's pathetic Potter," she spat.

"Evans I-" James tried to say.

"Oh spare me Potter," Lily said while rolling her eyes. "You thought that no one would bother to ask poor little Lily Evans to Hogsmeade so you and your little friends decided that it would be funny if you took it upon yourself to ask me out."

"You're blowing this thing way out of pr-"

But Lily didn't want to hear it; she was on a roll. "Well for your information, I actually do have a date. A nice, caring guy who didn't just ask me out for his own bloody amusement!"

At this point James had given up on trying to tell her that he had genuinely liked her and decided to just listen to her rant and rave. After about five minutes she was done, and was red in the face.

"And that, James Potter, is why I will never go out with you."

"Charming. Who's the bloke that you're going with?"

"You'll find out when the day comes," she said disdainfully. And with that, she walked up to the girls dormitories.

James, who now had a massive headache, slowly made his way back to the fourth year boys' dormitories.

"You took long," Sirius said upon his arrival, a large grin on his face. "Did she snog you?"

Shooting his supposed best mate a glare, he said, "No, she spent the better part of ten minutes yelling at me about how she wasn't going to go out with someone who's only asking her for his own amusement."

Sirius and Peter burst out laughing while Remus shot him a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry mate," Remus said, clapping him on the back.

"Yeah, yeah," James grumbled as he walked over to his four poster bed. He climbed in and shut the hangings.

"Er, James?" Peter asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to suffocate myself with a pillow. Do me a favour and bury me with my broomstick."

"Sure thing," Sirius said. "Come on guys; let me go show you that new shortcut I found."

And with that, all three boys exited the room, leaving one James Potter thinking that he needed to invest in some new mates.

* * *

**_Goodness that was long! It's more than a thousand words longer than the average chapter. I blame it one the fact that this was the first chapter that I wrote for the drabble, although at that time I intended for it to be a one shot. I hope you guys liked it. _**

**_Oh, and I said this a few chapters ago after a reviewer brought it up, but if you have any ideas that you want me to include in the drabble (or even write as a separate story) then just leave it in your review or PM me it._**

**_And speaking about reviews, I was wondering if we could reach fifteen by next chapter. (hint hint wink wink)_**

**_Reviews are like chocolate chip cookies._**

**_~twilightstargazer_**

**_:)_**


	7. Writing

**_Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! We made it to fifteen. Yay. Have a cookie. _**

**_Oh, and if you all would be so kind to check out my other stories, I would really appreciate it. :)_**

* * *

**Chapter 7- Writing**

James Potter was bored.

There was no other word to describe it. He was simply bored.

It was the summer before fifth year and he was left alone at Potter Manor by his parents. He had invited the other Marauders to come over, but they weren't going to be there until after lunch. That was probably the downside of being an only child he mused. The house elves weren't exactly the best to play Quidditch or Snap with, throwing a quaffle and catching at back was only amusing for so long and he was, surprisingly, finished with his summer homework. They didn't have any Defence essays to write as their teacher had left, Charms and Potions were simply enough, just a few questions here and there that gave him trouble, he could do the Arithmancy problems with his eyes closed, Binns wouldn't even bother with the history essay and after studying the theory of Animagus, Transfiguration was probably the easiest thing in the world for him.

Sighing, he threw the quaffle in the corner of his room and got off the bed. Maybe he could ask one of the elves to make him a snack or something. He was about to exit the room when a photograph caught his eye.

In that photo there were two blondes, a redhead and a brunette. Marlene, Alice, Lily and Mary. He remembered how on the last day of school Sirius pestered the girls none stop to get a picture of them. In the end, three out of the four relented. Lily didn't particularly want her photo taken, but after much persuasion and a possible bribe, she gave in. She was standing in the middle of them, next to the then fifth year, Alice Prewett and her dorm mate Mary Macdonald. All the girls were making ridiculous faces at the camera causing James's lips to tug upwards in a slight smile.

James had kept on asking Lily out even though so far all of her answers had been negative. He asked her out everyday, so much so that it had become part of his daily ritual. He always found different ways to ask her, whether it was verbally, sending her notes in class, once, he charmed her potions book to sing it out loud and another time, when she was sick and cooped up in the girls' dormitories, he sent her and owl.

Hey… wait a second.

Maybe he could send her an owl right now!

He vaguely recalled Marlene saying something about Evans living in… Cokeworth was it?

Grinning to himself, he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill.

And that's where he got stuck.

What was he supposed to write? He never wrote her a proper letter before. All he wrote lat time was, '_Evans, feel better. There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up and I prefer my dates not to be sick. James._'

As soon as she was better, she hexed him.

Sighing quietly, he dipped his quill in to the ink pot and started writing.

_Dear Lily,_

No. She was 'Evans' to him. He crossed it out and began again.

_Dear Evans,_

_ I hope summer's treating you well._

He scratched that off too. It was… a non James Potter-ish thing to say. But then again, what if her parents read it? What would they think of him? Wait, why did he care about what her parents thought about him? Why was he asking himself so many questions? Groaning, James binned both sheets of parchment and started again.

_Evans,_

_ How's everything going?_

No. That was rubbish.

_To the little redheaded temperamental witch,_

That would earn him a slap or a hex.

_What's up Flower?_

He sounded like a pansy.

After another hour, several sheets of parchment, three broken quills and an ice cream sundae, James had finally completed the letter.

_Evans,_

_ It's me. James. You know the good looking bloke with the glasses and messy hair from your year and house? Yeah. Him._

_ Just writing you because I'm dying of boredom here. The other Marauders aren't here for me to cause trouble and I can't play Quidditch by myself plus I'm more or less finished with all those dreadful essays, so I'm writing you. By the way, speaking of essays you wouldn't mind telling me the answer for that Charms question, would you love? You know, the one about what is the proper wrist movement to achieve the bubble head charm? If you do, I'll go out with you. I know you've been pining after me forever. We could probably go to Diagon Alley or Muggle London if you want. I've never been to Muggle London. Is it true that they use those thingamajigs to get around? What do they call it again… an automobile! Yes, that's it. Frankly I don't see the allure of it. Flying is so much more fun. So what do you say? You, me, date this Friday with some flying in the evening?_

_Hope to hear from you soon._

_James._

"This is for Lily Evans," he said as he tied the letter to his large eagle owl, "She lives in Cokeworth. Make sure you stay until to she responds. I don't think she has an owl." James stepped away from the owl and watched as he soared out of sight. He knew that he rambled a little in the letter, but at least it was better than asking her outright for a date.

Oh who was he kidding?

That was a horrible letter. He sounded like a right prat. Although, he did want to double check the charms thing. The textbook was worthless.

Just a few minutes after his owl was out of sight, he heard the 'whoosh' of the fireplace as someone Flooed in. That someone being Sirius.

"Hey mate," he greeted as he dusted off the ash from his shirt. "What's up?"

"Not much," James shrugged. "Just sending some letters."

"To who? I thought Remus and Peter where stopping by later?"

"They are. The letters are for…er." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

Sirius caught on soon enough, and started to crack up.

"You wrote to Evans?" he asked in between gasps of breath.

"Oh sod off," James grumbled, blushing slightly.

"I can't believe you wrote the little pipsqueak."

"She's not a pipsqueak anymore."

"Oi, as long as I'm taller than her, she'll always be a pipsqueak to me."

James shoved his shoulder as they headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

A few hours later, just as night was beginning to fall, all four Marauders were in James's room, discussing the Animagi transformations. They were close to achieving it, and James was sure that by the time they went back to Hogwarts, they would be Animagi.

Just then there was a tapping outside his window.

The four boys looked up and saw the owl outside the window. James got up from the floor where he was sitting, and went to open it. The owl swooped in, perching itself on the bedpost before sticking out its leg. He removed the letter and then the owl exited.

"Er- James?" Remus said. "Who's that from?"

"Oh, James was writing our dear little Ginger a letter when I came by this morning. Isn't that right James?" Sirius said a smug smile on his face.

"Shut up," James replied as he opened the letter. It wasn't as long as his, but at least she responded.

_Potter,_

_ No, I will not go out with you. Not to Diagon Alley, not to Muggle London, not to anywhere. How'd you even get my address? Wait, you know what? I don't want to know. The owl nearly scared my mother to death when it flew in. We don't need a repeat._

_ Stop writing to me, prat._

_Evans._

_P.S: The wrist movement for the bubble head charm is a counter clockwise turn and flick. Now leave me alone._

Sirius grabbed the parchment out of his hand and read it, before keeling over with laughter.

"It's not funny," James said, crossing his hands across his chest. The letter had passed on to Remus now and Peter was attempting to read it from over his shoulder.

"It is a bit funny, mate," Remus said, his lips twitching in amusement.

"A bit? It's bloody hysterical. Honestly, if you weren't so obsessed with Lily Evans and if she wasn't such a… a Lily Evans-"

"Nice description," James snorted.

"- then maybe I would have asked her out on a date."

"Hey!"

"Keep your knickers on James," Sirius said, laughing at his best friend's expression. Remus was torn between amusement and exasperation at both of them while Peter was snickering quietly next to him. "All I'm saying is that she's funny, smart and good looking."

"So you like her."

"Please," Sirius snorted, "She's too much bloody work, what with that temper."

James opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again as he realized that Sirius was partially right.

"Whatever," he grumbled. "I'm going downstairs to get something to drink."

"Aw. Are you sure you don't want to write a letter to dear Lilykins again," Sirius asked, giving him a fake pout.

James may or may not have given him a rude hand gesture.

* * *

**_Review? :)_**


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